A recent North Carolina pub­lic opin­ion poll con­duct­ed for The News & Observer found that only 49% of vot­ers polled approve of exe­cu­tions for those con­vict­ed of first-degree mur­der while 42% favor life in prison with­out parole as the pun­ish­ment. Nine per­cent were unsure. The same poll reg­is­tered 40% of respon­dents in sup­port of a mora­to­ri­um on exe­cu­tions and 53% in oppo­si­tion to halt­ing exe­cu­tions for two years while the state stud­ies and fix­es pos­si­ble flaws in its death penal­ty sys­tem. State Representative Paul Luebke, who sup­ports a mora­to­ri­um, not­ed, ​“It’s clear that sup­port for the death penal­ty is not that strong in North Carolina.” The North Carolina Senate in April approved a two-year mora­to­ri­um bill, which the House will con­sid­er in May 2004. (The News & Observer, September 19, 2003) See Public Opinion.

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